Customs officer charged in sham marriage arrangement

Tribune illustration

(Tribune illustration)

By Jason MeisnerTribune reporter

A federal customs officer assigned to O’Hare International Airport has been charged with attempting to thwart an investigation of a sham marriage she arranged between a friend of hers and a Mongolian citizen more than a decade ago, authorities said today.

Enkhchimeg Ulziibayar Edwards, who also goes by “Eni Edwards,” was indicted on two counts of witness tampering and will be arraigned at a later date at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The charges allege Edwards, 36, of Carpentersville, arranged in July 2003 for a Mongolian citizen – identified only as Individual A -- to marry a friend of hers “in order to obtain U.S. citizenship.” Shortly after the nuptials in Las Vegas, the couple applied for Individual A to become a naturalized U.S. citizen, according to the charges.

After the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services requested additional information, Edwards’ friend – identified only as Individual B -- stopped pursuing citizenship for Individual A, the charges alleged. The couple divorced in May 2004 after the naturalization petition was rejected.

By early 2013, federal law enforcement authorities were conducting an investigation of the role that Edwards played in the marriage, according to the indictment. The charges alleged that Edwards twice attempted to persuade her friend to stop cooperating with authorities.